New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney (right) tours the lab of Yibin Kang (left), the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. Kang's research focuses on applying modern molecular biology, genomics and computational biology approaches to understand the molecular basis of how cancer spreads.

New Jersey Senate President Sweeney visits cancer research lab

Posted July 21, 2014; 05:00 p.m.

by the Office of Communications

New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney visited a laboratory on the Princeton University campus Monday, July 21, where researchers are trying to understand how cancer spreads in the human body.

Sweeney toured the lab of Yibin Kang, the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology. Kang is among 32 Princeton researchers who have received a total of nearly $4.4 million from the New Jersey Commission on Cancer research since 1997. The grants support a variety of projects, from summer research fellowships to the analysis of the impact of particular genes in the spread of cancer.

Of the total amount of funding received by Princeton, $667,516 was awarded to Kang to support his research. It focuses on applying modern molecular biology, genomics and computational biology approaches to understand the molecular basis of the spreading of cancer, or metastasis, which is responsible for most cancer deaths.

"If you look through this lab, the world is here. Everyone is from a different place in the world, but together the combined brainpower is creating amazing outcomes," Sweeney said. "It's an enormous return on investment, plus it's actually really making a difference."

Sweeney (left) and Kang discuss the role of cancer research funding in the discovery and development of treatments, and its positive impact on the New Jersey economy.